My Jan Term: Intro to Psychology

by
Stratton Smith
| Feb 03, 2017

This January Session I had mixed feelings going into my Introduction to Psychology course. I was excited because psychology is really mind-boggling, deep, and can make a lot of sense of a lot of things. On the other hand, the class is a level-100 course and I knew I’d be one of the few upperclassmen in the class. I get along just fine with underclassmen, but I’ve found most underclassmen don’t really have a solid self-identity yet, so they’re usually on the quiet side in classes (lame social anxiety). For example, I find that a professor will ask a really simple question, I’m talking a 4th grade level question, but everyone is too scared to answer it… it’s frustrating; don’t be THAT guy. If you know an answer, you should answer it. Right? Right. Cool. That rant is over.

The class was a lot of fun, and the professor, David Johnson, is probably one of my favorite professors outside of the English Department (he’s just a really fun and interesting guy), and I only had a class with him for 3 weeks. Sitting in a class for four hours a day… we learned a lot. I think what I took away most from the class, and I had already kind of being doing this for the last year, was the realization that we are products of our environment. Everything about who we are is normally based very little on our genes or what we’re born with. Everything we believe, value, and prioritize is based on what the people around us believe is socially acceptable. Can we really have an independent thought that isn’t charged by something in our environment? I’d argue that it would be pretty tough.

As I get older I find myself become more and more self-conscious of my actions. Some days I ask myself if I could actually be clinically insane because of the amount I’m always talking to myself – But I don’t think that makes me CRAZY, but then again I don’t really believe in crazy. Crazy is something created by society’s standards and lately, I’m not a huge fan of society. I am a huge fan of me, though. *cough cough* NARCISSIST*cough cough*

I challenge anyone reading this to talk to yourself more. Listen and build a relationship with that voice in your head… unless you’re a Schizophrenic… then go tell someone… unless you’re happy being a Schizophrenic, which is cool with me, too! AND TO TIE IT ALL TOGETHER, I wouldn’t have been able to make that joke without taking Introduction to Psychology. Thanks, Manchester!

Stratton Smith ’17 is an English major, hailing from a small town just east of Indianapolis. Stratton is the captain of the tennis team, co-founder of Academic Probation, Manchester's improv troupe, and Vice President of the Theatre & Society club.